Victoria West marching band heats up for school year (Video)

Beads of sweat rolled off West High School Band members' noses as they snapped to attention with a loud cry of "One."

Hands come up to eye level as if an instrument was in their grasp. The portable speaker resting on top of a 6-foot ladder blasts out a metronome digital beat that would drive an ordinary person packing, but this group of kids is not ordinary.

It's 9 a.m., the humidity is merciless, and to top things off, this group of dedicated teens will march back and forth on the concrete parking lot all morning long.

Band director Adam Ardner puts things into perspective. "They want to be here; they want to be musicians," he said. "This gives them a purpose."

Scurrying about like ants, band members assigned the role of student leaders get up close, carefully studying each step as they count out, "5, 6, 7, 8," which is momentarily broken up with comments like, "What's going on?"

After an hour or so, they break out into smaller groups with trumpets here, tubas next to them and the drum line over in their own little world - weird socks and all.

When asked about the heat, one enthusiastic member yelled, "We don't mind the heat," and another shouted, "We need it!"